"Yes. I wonder if it would help anything if we found them first, if they existed, or if it would just make them more nervous."

"It's a very awkward detente to break."

"I think I do want to see if we could invent a spell to find them, first. Just so we know for sure if they exist."

"Since there all we want is the result and not the ability to reproduce the spell, if I turn out to have decent powers I could hack something together and not break stride on the major projects, I guess."

"Yes." He bites his lip. "Are you going to be okay about it, though? If we don't find out? If it's going to be a long-term psychological problem--if it took breaking stride for, that might be better than the alternative."

"I'll live with it. We don't even know if I have powers yet and we can find out tomorrow cheap and easy, no need to make plans contingent on either answer now."

"Okay. ...I want you to be okay. Really okay, not just dealing with it."

"What's the difference?"

"...There's a difference between tolerating an unpleasant stimulus and the absence of the stimulus." He sighs. "Maybe I'm overthinking things. I do that."

"I'm probably still more likely to die in a car accident, and I deal with that, too." She pats his knee.

"...When you first told me, I was just--unambiguously excited. And now there's a sort of pall hanging over it. I sort of miss it. But that much is my problem, not yours."

"Sorry." Pause. "Want to go someplace private and have a look at my fullform? I'm all pretty and serpenty."

"That sounds amazing."

"I could bring you home with me. Ren knows."

"Okay. It's probably best to do most experimental casting in one of our homes from now on--Jaromira's out with Daphne a lot, and Father usually only comes home to sleep, so my place is still safe most of the time even though you don't want me telling her."

"Ren's asked about you anyway, but we can postpone you meeting her if you want?"

"I don't mind meeting her, unless there's some particular hazard I should be warned about."

"No, Ren's fine, you just might have had some other timeline in mind for the milestone."

"Not particularly. It would have seemed awkward to make some kind of presumption on that level without a similar expectation of introducing you to my father, and I have no idea if or when you'd ever want to specifically meet him. I expect it would happen eventually, but--it's not like we have the kind of relationship where I tell him when things happen to me."

"So he doesn't even know I exist?"

"...I haven't spoken to him since before I met you."

"Wow. Okay. I will not plan on encountering him in this calendar year."

"He's about due to pretend he cares what's going on in my life soon; I'll probably mention you then. It's...possible he will want to meet you. To make sure I'm not seeing someone he'd be embarrassed to be tangentially associated with, most likely," he winces. "If so, I apologize for his behavior in advance."

"Is he likely to find me embarrassing or do I pass muster?"

"As long as you don't tell him you're a wyvern you pass muster. Not that I expect you to, but."